Choking Hazard
by Rosabelle Meave Sterling
Summary: Natasha suffers during her sleep. It's why she doesn't do it often. But Clint knows not to wake her up unless he can fight her off. But what happens when someone else can't?


Natasha wasn't really one to sleep. She hated it because it flashed through everything she'd ever done, everything she'd ever been through. But since she'd kept herself awake for over three and a half days, she was exhausted. So, she finally crashed. Falling into an unconscious state, she couldn't wake herself up from any nightmares she suffered from. She could only be pulled out of them when she had enough sleep… or if someone else pulled her from them. And when she was pulled from them, it wasn't always easy to get her back.

The boys knew Natasha didn't sleep really, even though Clint was the only one who knew why. He never told the others, figured he didn't have to. Natasha's secrets didn't need to be shared in his opinion. If she wanted to tell them, or there was a good reason to then they'd know. But of course… Stark got curious when he didn't see the Black Widow around for something he'd devised. Clint was talking with Bruce, Thor was eating Pop Tarts, and Steve was working on learning to use a touch screen cell phone. "Anyone seen Agent Widow?" He asked the group collectively.

"I would imagine she's somewhere around," Steve stated with a nod. Clint looked up and knew where she was. He always seemed to. "Let us go and look for our female warrior," Thor boomed, getting up from the table. Steve nodded and got up. "It's not like her to be missing. Did you check the gym?"

"Yep. First place I looked," Tony stated in reply. "And she's not on a mission. She leaves notes. So that leaves a place. But I don't think she'd be there." He lead the group down to her room, opening the door and looking inside. There, Natasha was asleep on her bed, curled up on her side. She felt safe in that position and nothing would bother her. It was her security. But the terrors in her mind made her feel helpless and terrible. This gave her some control over herself. But she started to twitch a bit in her sleep, worrying the group.

Tony gripped her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Natasha," he asked before Clint could stop him. Natasha's eyes opened wide and before anyone could do anything, she'd moved quickly and held Tony in a triangle chokehold, keeping pressure on his carotid artery. The genius tried to get the assassin to let go, gipping at her lethal thighs and trying to pry them apart. But the thing he tried to do most, was breathe. The other men were laughing at the scene and Steve shook his head. "You should have known better Tony," he said simply.

"Sorry for… being… curious," The brunet managed out. Clint watched as Nat didn't let go of the billionaire. Something was in her eyes… "Tony, tap out," he suggested. Tony did as instructed, coughing and spluttering to catch his breath. Steve moved but Clint stopped him, holding his arm out to stop the soldier. He stepped into the room and sat on the bed next to Natasha. He knew one thing no one else did.

Natasha was trained like a dog when she was in Russia. Different pitches brought on different reactions. But there was one she couldn't train herself out of, one she never wanted to. She when she'd hear it, she'd snap out of whatever she was doing. And Clint knew it. He held his hand up next to her ear and snapped. The redhead relaxed a little and blinked a couple times before realizing she had someone between her thighs. She released Tony and pushed him from the bed. And there was something the others hadn't seen in her eyes. Panic… She got off the bed before Clint could grab her, brushed past Steve and Bruce, and pushed Thor out of the way as she ran down the hall and up the stairs. She couldn't face them after that… she couldn't explain it to them. No one should know what she saw.

Steve tried to go after her, but Bruce was the one to stop the blond this time. "Let Clint take care of her," he said simply, before going and getting Tony from the floor. "Let's take a look over you." Tony was still stunned, unable to be angry, scared, or anything but numb as he was led out of the room by Bruce. Clint waited a moment before heading out of the room and looking to Steve and Thor, both of whom had concerned looks on their features. "She'll be alright. Don't worry," he assured them both before following Natasha's footsteps, to make sure she was completely snapped out of everything.

The redhead sat on the roof, overlooking the edge. Her gaze on the street below seemed distant and dreamy. But it wasn't. She was trying to pull herself back into the cage she kept everything in. Her past and more needed to stay away from her conscious mind. Now, they knew she suffered at night. That it wasn't as far away as she'd thought it had been. How could she make sure it never happened again? She couldn't. She needed sleep just like every other being did. She needed that physical rest, even if her mind never slept.

She heard footsteps come up behind her, and sighed. "Nat," the figure behind her said. The voice was that of her partner, calming when she needed it. "What, Clint?" She asked, not bothering to look behind her.

"You gave us all something to be worried about," he stated, walking to her and standing beside her.

"You know that doesn't comfort me at all, right? It actually makes me worse."

"We're worried about you. Not what you do, but you. I'm not going to tell you to tell them. I'm not going to tell you to do whatever," he replied. "This is your thing. But I'm going to be here for you. This is your thing."

Natasha smiled at him and sighed softly. "Thanks Clint. But they know I'm not one to mess with when I sleep. They know that well," She remarked. "But Tony's a moron. He needs to learn that just because can do something and is curious, doesn't mean he should."

"I know Nat," He replied. "But what were you seeing that made you wake up like that?" It was what was eating at him. He didn't know what she saw, so he didn't know how to fix it.

"I saw them, Clint," She said after a moment's pause. She needed to tell someone. But she wasn't sure how to. "When I was young… they took me in because I was given over to them for anything. They… they cut me, tortured me… took my out of my mind and replaced me with someone else." She gripped the railing near her and closed her eyes. "Clint… I saw them training me to be the Black Widow. That's why… I woke up the way I did. I didn't need someone touching me like that. Not again. I can't. Not when I don't consent." Her final words were almost a whisper. It was one thing she feared more than anything. That someone would take advantage of her. That was how they taught her when she was younger. They used her and had her learn the pleasures. Then they'd send for her to show them what she'd learned. It was awful. Bile rose in her throat as she remembered it and she knew Clint wanted to do something… but that he wouldn't because she wasn't able to take the touches.

"No one's going to do that, Tasha," Clint stated. "Not while I'm around. I'll have your back and your front so no one uses you again." It was a promise he couldn't, and wouldn't, break to her. She opened her eyes and met his blue gaze with her green one. Sighing a bit she leaned against him and found solace that was sorely needed. "Thank you, Clint," She breathed. He wrapped an arm around her and nodded. "You're welcome Natasha," He replied quietly. They stayed on the rooftop for a while, just enjoying each other's company and needing the comfort they found there. Natasha couldn't escape her past, but now everyone knew why no one woke up the Widow when she was sleeping. She's lethal asleep and awake. But without her hawk to keep her in line and take the fears away, things would be a lot worse than a slight choking hazard.


End file.
